The Bulldogs sit third in the Linemakers Power Ratings, behind Indiana and Duke. This could very well be coach Mark Few’s best team. No one expected the Illini, picked ninth in the Big Ten, to also be undefeated now, but the team survived new coach John Groce’s brutal offseason conditioning program and is thriving in his up-tempo style.

Spreads are courtesy of William Hill, the first sports book in Las Vegas on Friday to offer spreads on Saturday's games.

About Illinois: The Illini, featuring a three-guard lineup, are among the nation’s top teams in made 3-pointers (10.8 per game) and shoot an impressive 40.6 percent from deep. Senior guard Brandon Paul (17.8 ppg, 3.9 apg, 4.4 rpg) is playing like an All-American. But Illinois can’t get out and run if it doesn’t get stops, and the team has a weak interior defense. In the Illini’s unimpressive 72-64 victory over Western Carolina on Tuesday, Catamounts 6-8 center Tawaski King attempted nine free throws.

About Gonzaga: The Bulldogs, who lead the nation in shooting percentage (53.1), will try to avenge last season’s 82-75 loss in Champaign. This team is deep; nine players can lead the team in scoring on any given night. It returned four starters and doesn’t miss departed center Robert Sacre after adding 6-9 Sam Dower (9.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and 7-1 Polish freshman Przemek Karnowski (9.3 ppg, 68.5 percent shooting, 3.8 rpg in 14.7 minutes per game). The Bulldogs also have played a more difficult schedule than the Illini (82nd-toughest to 131st-toughest). Gonzaga will be Illinois’ first ranked opponent

The teams have one common opponent. Duke just whipped Delaware 88-50, while Temple held off the Blue Hens 80-75. The Owls have only two regulars taller than 6-6, which could mean a field day for 6-10 senior Mason Plumlee (19.6 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 65.4 percent shooting).

The Blue Devils also expect senior guard Seth Curry (15.1 ppg) to return from an ankle injury that kept him out against Delaware.

Even though these teams haven’t met in basketball since 2004 or in football since 2005, there’s no love lost. Tech Sideline.com reports the game is a sellout, which should help bring out West Virginia’s best effort. The Linemakers rate the defensive-minded Mountaineers slightly better than the offense-oriented Hokies despite a much worse record.

West Virginia will have 6-10, 240-pounder Volodymyr Gerun available for the first time this season. He was suspended for the first six games after playing for a pro team in Ukraine.

First-year Virginia Tech coach James Johnson has the Hokies attacking and playing beautiful offensive basketball. They were in the top 10 in offensive efficiency earlier this week, compared to WVU being in the low 100s, and senior guard Erick Green (24.9 ppg) is among the nation’s leaders in free throws attempted (10.4 per game).

The Linemakers' take: Virginia Tech has been terrific under new coach James Johnson going 7-0 out of the gate. They have only played one road game however (A 96-87 win at UNC Greensboro). Bob Huggins is slowly getting WVU to mesh. They won 69-59 over a very good Marshall squad on Wednesday. This could be a long day for the Hokies as they will be at a decided disadvantage size wise here.